Joanna Simons said that although the council “take enormous responsibility for what's happened”, her “gut feeling” is that she will not resign.

Ms Simons said the council would be asking itself some “very hard questions” in the wake of the case, which involved girls as young as 11 being drugged and raped by members of one of Britain's biggest ever child sex gangs.

Eight people were "being investigated for the criminal offences of organised crime, trafficking in persons, grievous bodily harm, abusing official position of authority, fraud and trading in influence," the EU's Pristina mission said, without revealing their identity.

The girl, who was described as being from a broken and troubled family, was subjected to sexual abuse over four days after being persuaded to travel with the men to Ipswich in Suffolk in July last year.

“Girl D” said that she was forced to become a sex slave by two alleged members of the Oxford child sex gang, who also allegedly raped her themselves.

Giving evidence for a second day at the Old Bailey, she described how she was made to act as a hostess in hotel rooms and at parties, where she would be expected to have sex with men that one of her alleged abusers, Mohammed Karrar, brought to her.